The organiser of a Valentine's dance in Oklahoma has cancelled the event because the venue is too close to a church; breaking a little known law.
A 38 year old morality ordinance in the town of Henryetta, Oklahoma decrees that public dances cannot take place within 500 ft of a church or place of worship.
Rosie LaVon's Marketplace, the venue of the cancelled dance, was 300 ft away from Henryetta Church of Christ.
The business is 300 ft away from this church building
Robbie Kinney, who organised the event, told ABC 8: ""The ordinance says no dancing allowed. It's illegal."
Kinney told the broadcaster that because her business is so close to a church she decided to check with city officials to see whether it was legal to host the event.
The town's mayor, Jennifer Clason said: "It's never been enforced my entire life," said Clason. "But I'd never looked at it because it never came up."
"It's an antiquated ordinance, no one has ever looked at it to change it," she added.
Kinney said that she chose to cancel the event because her husband is a city attorney and has taken an oath to uphold the law.
The city council will consider changing the ordinance at a town meeting on 22 February.
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